Chapter 291 - Hatching (5)
Henry gave up on looking for a new deity because it no longer seemed feasible. He couldn’t use La’s or Irene’s divine powers either. Of course, they would still help him, but they wouldn’t be able to serve as Henry’s main source of power against Arthus.
Having received advice from various people, including Herabola, Henry had tried to find a new deity that could help him fight Arthus. However, after realizing that even Dumbillon and Orion were no good, Henry had been forced to give up.
He decided to stop pursuing something he couldn’t have. Instead, he planned to take on Arthus with the thing he was most confident in—magic.
Of course, Henry knew that if he lost this battle, not only would he lose his life, but the entire continent would fall into Arthus’ hands and possibly be destroyed. Therefore, he decided to get the numerous wizards in the Snow Spire to help him prepare for the final battle instead of preparing on his own.
‘Wizards are like fire.The more that join together, the greater the flame, and the stronger the firepower.’
To increase their offensive capabilities by several notches, Henry planned to use the Miracle Blue and the Black Tear, which had helped him tremendously after he had been reincarnated.
“Archmage, are you serious?” Lore asked with a look of disbelief.
“Of course I am. I also promised that I would help you guys awaken the 7th-Circle after this was all over. We’re just doing that ahead of schedule, so don’t thank me too much.”
“A-ah...”
Seeing how casually Henry assured them of this plan, all the school heads, including Lore, were overwhelmed with gratitude.
Henry continued explaining, “Raising a Circle in a short period of time is easy, but the problem is that it’s going to hurt like hell.”
“That’s alright! If we can evolve our Circles, we will tolerate any kind of pain! If we don’t do this, the pain of our ignorance will be way worse than the pain we would’ve had to endure in order to grow stronger!”
“That’s right!”
“I agree!”
At the thought of reaching their dream of becoming a 7th-Circle, the school heads firmly assured Henry that they were on board with his plan.
“Really? I see...” said Henry with a smirk.
If the school heads were so determined, the wizards below had to have the same attitude.
“Very well then. We’re all going to head to Caliburn Fortress.”
“Caliburn Fortress?”
“Yes. That place is filled with ingredients for the elixirs that will enhance your Circles.”
“Alright! We’ll prepare to leave right away!”
“Get ready to leave, all of you!”
“Yes, sir!”
They looked like knights joining forces, and Henry witnessed the rare sight of high-spirited wizards shouting in unison.
***
“Agh...”
“Your Majesty, you’ll never be like him if you continue like this.”
“B-but...!”
“You must pay attention to the training. Don’t talk while you train!”
The sun was scorching hot.
In Monsieur's sunlit training grounds, there was a man with a fresh tan and several other men surrounding him.
The tanned man was none other than Herarion.
Herarion was currently undergoing special training to become a martial arts god with some of the finest knights on the continent, among them Von, McDowell, and Valhald.
“Stop.”
Thud!
“Huff.”
No sooner had Von told him to stop than Herarion collapsed on the ground. This training was grueling. It was ten times more difficult and overwhelming than when Hector had trained him.
“Priests.”
“Yes.”
Right after Herarion collapsed, the two priests who had been waiting nearby approached him. Then, as requested by Von, they started to heal Herarion.
Glow!
Their healing spells repaired his torn muscle fibers and revitalized him. These special priests had been brought from the Holy City specifically for Herarion’s training.
Soon, Herarion felt the pain of his torn muscles subside, and his labored breathing slowed down.
When Herarion finally seemed to have regained his strength, Von smiled brightly and said, “Alright, now please get up and hold your sword again, Your Majesty.”
“N-no....”
“There’s no such thing as no, so please get up,” insisted Von.
At this point, Von looked like the devil in Herarion’s eyes. His specialized training regime literally didn’t allow for any rest.
However, having dedicated every waking moment to specialized training over the past few days, his only rest being sleep, Herarion had indeed achieved remarkable progress, a significant improvement from his previous, weaker self.
“Next up is Aura training.”
“Hmph!’
Strength training was followed by Aura training.
The knights assigned to Herarion’s training put together the best possible training manual to help Herarion improve as much as possible in a short period of time. As a result, Herarion had reached the level of a Sword Master.
Herarion released a blue Aura from his entire body which was flowing like a tranquil lake. This was the unique, calm Aura of a Sword Master.
Seeing Herarion’s Aura, Von remarked, “Very good. You’re indeed gifted with the talent of becoming a martial arts god, Your Majesty. No ordinary swordsman could ever reach the level of Sword Master in such a short period of time.”
“Hmm...!”
“You’re doing a great job. Please perform the imperial swordsmanship ten times right away while maintaining your Aura.”
“What? Ten times?”
“No talking during training! Now start!”
“Ahhhh!” Herarion screamed as if he was angry, but he had no choice but to comply. If he suffered defeat and became a burden to Henry again, he would genuinely not be able to face his ancestors after he died.
With Arthus’ deadline drawing near, Herarion was improving at a frightening rate.
***
Clank!
Clank! Clank!
There was another training ground in Monsieur besides the one Allen had used. This one was on the outskirts of the city. There, a knight was undergoing difficult training just like Herarion.
That knight was none other than Ronan. He was enveloped in Aura and dueling with Kington, his former adoptive father.
“Is this all you’ve got?!”
Clank!
Ronan and Kington’s Auras clashed.
For the past few days, Ronan had been training relentlessly just as he had promised Henry on the condition that he would take Kington as his lieutenant.
As a result, Ronan had grown from being an intermediate Sword Master to an advanced Sword Master, mastering his decisive skill. And now, he was dueling with Kington on a daily basis, without holding back at all, in order to become a Peak Sword Master and master the ultimate skill.
Clank!
Their two Auras clashed again, and the two knights admired each other every time it happened.
‘Damn it! No wonder he was the previous Knight King!’
‘You’ve certainly got a knack for this, Ronan!’
Ronan couldn’t help but acknowledge Kington’s skills, even though he despised him.
In turn, Kington also marveled at Ronan’s talent and rapid improvement. When it came to swordsmanship, he couldn’t possibly compare Ronan to his real son, Hamilton.
Their admiration for each other became a positive catalyst that pushed each other to the next level.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
Loud metallic sounds, enough to rupture one’s eardrums, constantly echoed through the training ground. Their duel was so intense that the walls of the training ground were starting to crumble, dust and debris falling from them.
However, neither of them cared about the damage to the training ground because they were in Monsieur, home to some of the finest craftsmen on the continent, who believed in repairing what was broken and reconstructing what was completely destroyed.
“You’re done for!”
Swoosh!
Kington condensed his Aura and swung his sword in a wide motion, firing at Ronan a sword strike in the shape of a giant crescent moon.
However, Ronan had already reached his limit.
Even though Kington was holding back his ultimate skill and suppressing his Aura to match Ronan’s level, he was a top-tier knight at the end of the day.
Ronan stared down the incoming sword strike, gritting his teeth.
‘Damn it! This again!’
For the past several days, Ronan had always lost the duel against Kington at this specific point.
Kington’s ruthless sword strike flew toward Ronan as his Aura was nearly gone from being exhausted after the long training.
Ronan clenched his jaw and prayed, or rather, he wished.
‘Please,’ he told himself. He would even sell his soul to the devil if it meant stopping that damned sword strike just this once.
The thin veins on Ronan’s eyes popped as he stared at the impending attack with a murderous look. His whole body felt heavy, and he no longer had the strength to even lift a finger.
But even at his breaking point, Ronan clenched his muscles with determination and endured the excruciating pain.
“Ahhhhh!”
Boom!
Following Ronan’s defiant scream, Kington’s sword strike struck him. The sword strike was so big that it completely engulfed Ronan, the remainder of the blast tearing through the wall behind him.
There was a thick dust cloud. With that, Kington caught his breath and sheathed his sword, calmly waiting for the dust to disperse and reveal the outcome.
‘Did I...?’
No matter how well he controlled his Aura, it was easy to get caught up in the heat of the duel and lose sight of the task at hand, especially since Ronan was improving at such a frightening speed.
Sadly, this was one of those times.
Kington swallowed nervously. If he had really made the mistake of accidentally killing Ronan, Henry would certainly have his head.
The dust settled, and...
Ptzzz!
“...!”
Kington could clearly hear a very specific sound, that of Aura, dying off but burning fiercely at the same time.
Along with that sound, Ronan was standing on his own two feet in the dirt after the dust cloud had settled.
“Ha... Ha, ha...!”
He had passed out after each fight, but now had finally managed to withstand Kington’s sword strike.
Ronan looked like a candle that was about to go out; a flickering flame burning at its brightest and most brilliant stage. However, the flame was very unstable, and it could die at any moment.
But even so, Kington could feel that in his exhausted and battered state, literally on the brink of collapse, Ronan had accomplished what he had yearned for all this time.
“Huff... I... made... it...!”
Thud!
Ronan withstood Kington’s sword strike and ignited a new spark of Aura. He had finally taken the first step toward achieving the ultimate skill, a skill that only Peak Sword Masters possessed.
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